Automated systems for providing call processing functions are not new. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 5,247,569 entitled “System and Method for Controlling Outbound and Inbound Calls in a Telephone Communication System,” the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, teaches a call handling system for controlling inbound and outbound calls automatically for placing agents in communication with calling and called parties. U.S. Pat. No. 5,255,305 entitled “Integrated Voice Processing System,” the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, teaches a general purpose computer platform providing voice processing functions, including voice messaging, call processing, and interactive voice response. U.S. Pat. No. 4,935,956 entitled “Automated Public Phone Control for Charge and Collect Billing,” the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, teaches a microcomputer system for use in automatically controlling charge and collect-call functions. U.S. Pat. No. 6,052,454 entitled “Telephone Apparatus With Recording of Phone Conversations on Massive Storage,” the disclosure of which is incorporated herein by reference, teaches a telephone apparatus for providing service to a plurality of telephones located at a particular facility, having the capability of controlling the connection of calls and recording selected phone conversations.
Such call processing systems have typically implemented configurations in which substantial amounts of call processing functionality is disposed or deployed in association with a facility being serviced. For example, discrete and substantially independent call processing systems are disposed at prison facilities, or other facilities, served by the system of above mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,935,956. Similarly, although call authorization functionality is disposed remotely to a facility being served in the system of above mentioned U.S. Pat. No. 6,052,454, call processing is provided by the phone system disposed at the facility.
A service provider may have a relatively large number of facilities for which calling services are provided, such as on the order of hundreds or even thousands of individual facilities, perhaps distributed throughout a large geographic area. The aforementioned locally disposed call processing systems provide a number of disadvantages in addition to the equipment costs associated with such a configuration. For example, a large number of call processing systems, particularly when distributed throughout a large geographic area, presents challenges from a maintenance standpoint. When system aspects are modified or updated, such as to provide new rate tables or dialing area codes, each such call processor requires individual attention. For example, an operations, administration, maintenance, and provisioning (OAM&P) terminal may be utilized to establish a dial-up connection with each affected call processor and provide update information and/or reconfiguration. However, merely establishing such dial-up connections with a large number of remote systems is burdensome, even ignoring the time and effort required in actually providing the update. Even where a persistent data link is maintained between such an OAM&P terminal and the remote systems, managing an update of a large number of remote systems is difficult.
Additionally, data sharing, aggregation, and statistical analysis available using such discrete or distributed call processing systems is very limited. The distributed and discrete nature of such previous configurations is not well suited for widespread data sharing, aggregation, and analysis. Moreover, the lack of persistent and/or high bandwidth data connections, such as in the case of the typical dial-up configuration, does not readily facilitate the aggregation of large amounts of data as might otherwise be useful in developing an image across many facilities for which calling services are provided.
Introducing new features and functions in such call processing systems can be problematic. For example, a particular feature requiring a minimum resource configuration or particular hardware may require a significant capital investment to introduce the feature for use at a number of sites as each corresponding call processing system may require hardware upgrades etcetera.
Additional challenges may be presented with respect to use of the aforementioned discrete or distributed call processing systems in particular situations. For example, where such call processing systems are deployed for use with respect to particular controlled environment facilities, such as prison facilities, functionality such as call recording may be implemented. Recording calls typically require substantial recording media space. Accordingly, personnel at each facility, whether employed by the service provider or by the facility itself, is required to periodically, often daily, archive or otherwise refresh the recording media to ensure the continued ability to record calls.
Where such call processing systems are used in providing collect calling or other subsequently billed calling services, discrete or distributed call processing system configurations can present issues with respect to billing and/or risk management. For example, billing records may only be polled periodically, such as by establishing a dial-up connection every night, thereby delaying billing as much as 24 hours with respect to any particular call. Moreover, analysis with respect to call velocity (information with respect to a number of calls placed to or from a particular number over a period of time) and/or credit limits may not be possible until the aforementioned periodic collection of data, allowing calls which otherwise would not be allowed to be completed to continue to be placed during the time of a polling period.